Saturday, March 12, 2011

Grand Game: Bullet Train Edition

Amazing article in the NYTimes, on bullet trains. (Nod to Anonyman).

Worthy of the Grand Game. Pick your favorite part.

Anonyman went first: Best part is the last sentence in the article...

Now, with the collapse of the Florida route, it looks as if the nation’s first segment of true high-speed rail will be in an even unlikelier place — linking Fresno and Bakersfield, in California’s Central Valley, and scheduled to end construction in 2017.

I can see wanting to take a fast train OUT of either of those places, but not if your only option is to go to the OTHER of those places.

My favorite part: The "Mad Men" commercial they paraphrase, which I had not heard about.

My favorite line: "“I read a piece that said that in 40 years, gas is going to cost almost a dollar a gallon,” one says." That was 1965, when gas was $0.31 per gallon. Now, this is not a commercial about inflation, folks. This is about GASOLINE. So, what is the current price of gasoline (I figured $3.60 per gallon nominal) in terms of 1965 prices? The answer is... $0.58! Still nowhere close to a dollar. I can never tell if US PIRG is a bunch of idiots, or liars. But those are the only possibilities, for them to make an ad like this.

Anyway, your turn! What's the coolest part of the article? Don't hold back, there's plenty of fun for everybody!

7 comments:

Tampa and Orlando are only 84 miles apart, generally considered too close for high-speed rail to make sense. The train trip, with many stops along the way, would have shaved only around a half-hour off the drive.

That right there is hope over experience. With multiple stops the train will never get up to any average speed faster than a car stuck in traffic on the interstate.

Perhaps you forget the government is YOU. Someone once said government is "of the people" etc... Make a better suggestion or do something. Just sitting there and complaining isn't making anything better.

There are NIMBY problems in LA and the Bay Area. The main trunk of the rail line is in the central Valley, it has the easiest construction, and the cheapest cost. The test tracks will be in the Central Valley, and showing California (and the rest of America) the reality of high speed rail will boost support for the project. Time is not on the side of HSR opponents- the proof is in the pudding.